Girl's Dress c. 1940

Nancy Crimi created this watercolour and graphite on paper of a girl's dress. I love the patience and precision of this kind of work. It makes me think of my own process, only very different. It's so controlled, so exact. The artist's hand meticulously plotting each point of the polka dot pattern. But somewhere in that careful construction, the ghosts of gesture and intuitive expression remain. I imagine the artist thinking, planning, building up the image in layers, each mark contributing to the overall effect of elegance and charm. It is a different kind of mark making to mine: more design, less chance. But it holds a similar quality. Different ends, similar means. Painting is an ongoing conversation, an exchange across time, inspiring creativity, with different types of embodied expression, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings.